Greenside’s Gleneagles strip
Greenside is a pretty northern Johannesburg suburb with a young, creative – and a bit rebellious – strip.
Vibrant restaurants are full on most nights and popular places for drinks are often overflowing. There are also lots of great shops in between for daytime browsing after lunch.
Starting at Barry Hertzog on the edge of the strip, Doppio Zero is patronised by couples and families comfortable with the consistently high standard of food and friendly neighbourhood vibe. If your dinner party can’t decide between Indian or seafood, Doppio is a good fall-back choice guaranteed to please everyone.
Next door, Capello is another good choice, with a continental feel and waiters who look dashing in red and black Panama hats.
Further along, The Office, sister establishment to The Attic in Parkhurst, has grown hugely popular, attracting a young crowd that spills out on to the pavement during peak hours. The Office mixes up the music and its clean contemporary décor goes down well with the Mojitos.
Spiceburg, with its halaal Indian food, is a firm favourite in the area, and the kilims and other beautiful carpets extravagantly displayed in huge glass windows at Paco’s, next door, are a fitting complement.
Greenside is as much a place to browse for used books as it is to have a Thai massage or get a tattoo. There is a mosaic-making studio and a shop that sells crystals, incense and tarot cards, as well as a couple of antique shops along the way that are well worth having a browse through.
Mama’s Shebeen, with its pop-culture décor, is a nice local variation on the Rasta vibe, and attracts a range of people with a bit of time on their hands and some hanging out to do.
There’s also the option of sushi, and Fratelli’s famous pizzas. Meze and tapas at Café Sofia are absolute Italiana, run by a special lady. It also do great breakfasts.
Adega’s classic Portuguese fare is a mainstay of Greenside’s eateries, and Bite is popular with the trendy crowd. The Greenside Café’s vegan inventions are pure heaven: it has likely made a few converts with its giant nori seaweed wraps and nut bakes.
As they say on the streets, Greenside is cooking, my bru.